'Overwatch' News: On the New Map, the Patch, and Bad Behavior
Since its release back in 2016, "Overwatch" has garnered the attention of the gaming community. It has won an award for being the best game in multiple categories last year, and the fandom is still increasing in numbers. However, the rising popularity brought with it some players whose actions in "Overwatch" have alarmed the developers. In order to stop the toxicity and bad behavior seen in "Overwatch," game developer Blizzard Entertainment has released a major patch.
"Players whose Xbox Live reputation has been downgraded to "Avoid Me" will remain in the same matchmaking pool as other Overwatch players," Blizzard Entertainment announced in a statement. "However, they will no longer be able to use the in-game voice communication."
Furthermore, the patch for "Overwatch" also adds a new map, Junkertown. It is mainly comprised of infrastructure built from destroyed omnium. It is also where players will find the Junkers and their Queen, where their frustrations and anger are released through a massive gladiator-like arena. This is where they fight for their lives as well as glory.
Aside from the new map to explore, Blizzard also rolled out some improvements in the user interface as well as released hero updates. However, the highlight of the patch seems to be the mute option, which is consistent with the developers' efforts of ridding "Overwatch" of players who exhibit bad behavior.
Recently, game director Jeff Kaplan released a video detailing how he felt about the toxicity that "Overwatch" is currently experiencing. It has caused the delay of what could have been awesome updates. Kaplan also urged the fans to reflect on their actions and to help them keep "Overwatch" from being a violent environment.
"Overwatch" is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. The patch should automatically download once players load the game on their respective consoles.
